Blended and Broken: A Tale of Two Worlds
by HeronBlueSuccumbs
Summary: A story of two dimensions enthralled by the blight. Hawke's history, broken and fragmented unraveled over time. Eventual Fenris romance in case you are curious. ;)
1. Chapter 1

**Chicacgo, Illinois**

Rumors had been spreading like wildfire. The past two years were ridden with whispers of ridiculous nonsense, but over the last month Pete began to wonder if there was more merit to the claims than the drugged hallucinations of what seemed to be an alarmingly increase in madmen. He didn't believe the wild tales of dragon sightings or "demons" in human form running wild in the forest, capable of unfathomable destruction with the flick of a wrist. But an uneasy feeling twisted in his gut whenever a fresh report of a poor soul's encounter sighting of "monsters" slipped from drunken lips at the local tavern - shadows of death, mankind's demise had come upon them. These … prophesies had become far too common. A hurricane was brewing. Dark and sinister.

Then it happened. Monday morning. 10:13 A.M.

Swiftly scooping up a thick stack of papers and hastily shoving them into his brief case, cursing himself as he realized the magnitude of his tardiness – not to mention an irate boss looming like a raincloud in his thoughts – Pete raced out the door of his apartment and practically leaped into his broken down Jeep. Yet, before he turned the key, before the engine ignited, a wail pierced his ears that brought his blood to a standstill. Every hair on his neck and arms was raised. Despite the fact every instinct he possessed bade him to bring that engine to life and drive as though the void itself threatened to swallow him whole, he couldn't allow whatever ... person …. that sound emanated from to remain unaided because he ran like yellow belly coward.

_Nothing_ could have prepared him for the sight that greeted him. Pete stood at the intersection, 9 blocks from his driveway, 9 blocks from the freedom he denied himself in a fit of heroic stupidity, gaping at a woman so ...diseased... he was unsure if he was dreaming, mad, or gazing at death incarnate. Glazed, fevered eyes coated in a cataract-like substance bored into his soul as she rasped "They are dead. They watch. They see. They pierce the veil." Wretching, a vile black substance she toppled over whimpering. Pete gave himself a quick shake and took a couple steps forward, hand outstretched. She recoiled from him in horror, hissing "Don't look at me. Blood sweet meat!" before drawing her knees up to her chest, rocking back and forth humming, eyes unseeing. Whether it was pity or insanity that dictated Pete's next move, he was unsure. Gulping, he approached the woman again – or attempted to – she glared straight into his eyes and let out a deafening wail, before slumping over …. dead.

Stupefied, Pete stood at the corner of Colorado and Westchester Street, every muscle in his body frozen to a standstill. Whether a minute, an hour, or a lifetime passed before shock gave way to utter revulsion and horror he couldn't say. Stumbling backwards over the curb, the scruffy engineer felt as though his very insides were being heaved onto the pavement. After finally regaining composure, Pete wiped his mouth and bolted toward his Jeep thoughts racing through his mind as panic threatened to overthrow his senses. But …. _wait...  
Where was everyone?_ The streets should be bustling at this hour. Again, he halted to a standstill gaping at the scene around him. Windows were boarded up. Storefronts clearly abandoned, boxes whose contents were strewn across the pavement dotted the landscape … _had the town been abandoned somehow?_

A foul wind whipped around his ankles and the next sight to greet his eyes assured him he had indeed fallen down the rabbit hole. Monsters whose flesh seemed to have decayed on their very bones flooded his vision. They snapped around and hissed, brandishing wicked blades like trophies. A tall, thick-boned twisted image of a man chortled, drew a dagger from one of his fallen companions' corpses, and shouted something foreign and barbaric while pointing his freshly acquired prize straight at the frozen statue that'd become Pete Ranze Parker.

A scream echoed through the streets, ringing off the bricks, sharper than the foul dagger pointing directly at his heart. _I know that voice._

"_Peter NO!. Peter FUCKING RUN."  
I know that voice..._

"_What in blazes are you fucking doing!? PETER."_

_I'm dreaming. I must be dreaming._

"_No no no no no no don't you dare die on me. Snap out of it!" Panic etched into every word.._

A tiny woman appeared in front of him, faster than lightening, eyes blazing with fury.  
"You soulless bastards!" She cried before launching herself like a rabid dog at the band of charging creatures.

"You want him? You come after my family!? You fucking pay!"  
"Wait, _**Dara**_?" _Oh good lord, that crazy girl. She's going to get herself killed. _

A strange crackle of energy emanated around the tiny figure in front of him and if he lived to be a thousand, Pete would never forget the ensuing scene.

_**Dara Ann Lenka 6 years prior**_

_Pete and Serena exchanged nervous glances as they drove from the airport in the wee hours of the morning. They had barely managed to convince customs to allow their clearly harrowed friend – who had been on the run for nearly two weeks – to cross the Canadian border and now... _

_They couldn't help but wonder what mess they stepped in this time._

_A young woman, barely 18 according to their American acquaintance, had finally seized the opportunity to leave her ever watchful, and frighteningly abusive parents. Yet, one of the means used to control Dara was not only the denial of a substantial diet and the looming rule she was only allowed to posses 15$ in cash at all times, but proof of her identity (proper ID, birth certificate, etc.) were also with-held. She had no other means of contacting the outside world aside from a laptop and had apparently been so isolated from the outside world that she had never even attended a real school. "Homeschooled. I was homeschooled." The one sentence, not to mention the first time either had heard Dara's voice, answered in a desperate sob. This was a disaster. She was being turned away at the border … after all this. They were escorted away from the interrogation area, Serena and Pete helplessly sat on a bench in the waiting room until the sun gave way and night drifted through the sole window. Finally a customs officer entered to deliver the verdict, heart in his throat, Pete expected the worst._

"_We are letting her through – temporarily." The woman announced. _

_The couple was clearly struck speechless._

_With a sigh, the officer explained in a hushed tone that although it was clear she was a runaway with no passport or birth certificate, she believed the girl was telling the truth – she had nowhere else to run. So, she would be allowed into Ontario for 6 months. "Under no circumstances are you to allow this girl to vanish into the underground. Understood?" The officer turned on her heel and marched down the corridor. _

"_She almost sounded … protective." Serena whispered._

"_Yea... I caught that too." _

_And then, they met her. Barely 5 feet tall and 90 lbs. at most, with scruffy blackish-brown hair and huge dark brown eyes (one nearly swollen shut by a menacingly dark bruise whose mere edges alone had yellowed after weeks) that almost made her look like an anime character, purple blotches across her collarbone, scabbed yellow and blue knuckles, and puffy tear-stained cheeks greeted their vision. Despite the obvious signs of abuse, what drew their attention was how incredibly small, vulnerable, and **young** this person seemed to be._

_"If that girl is 18, I'm the Queen of England." Pete whispered._

_Serena gulped, clearly agreeing._

"_14?" _

"_15 at most."_

"_... if not younger"_

_She spotted them and practically lunged off of the bench, uncaring of the backpack that sagged as if it were as heavy as she was, and raced up to them babbling so fast the only words they caught were their own names.  
"Slow down. I'm Serena and this is Pete, yes." _

_The girl abruptly threw her arms around them, swaying slightly under the weight of her pack, muttering "thank yous" in a voice Pete could have attributed to a terrified chipmunk._

**_0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_**

And here she was, six years later, lunging at _**monsters**_ born of terror and nightmare on Pete's behalf. The girl _he_ swore to protect. _I am dreaming._ She held a bone-chilling handful of ice in one hand, casting it at a group of genlocks. Fire in her right palm, he watched breathless, as a mythic … being … manipulated the weather - fire, ice, lightening, and the earth itself after assuming a protective stance over his apparently bloody, prostrate from; with a fury more potent than the sun, the offending creatures were obliterated.

The battle ended quickly, and suddenly he felt his muscle and bone begin to mend within seconds, the abandoned town's looming silence greeted his ears once more and he glanced up at one of the best friends in his life, in disbelief. She was ….. literally _**knitting**_ together flesh and bone with a blue-green light that emanated from her finger-tips instantly... _**Instantly. **_His idle, gaping stare didn't last long. Once she confirmed he was properly healed, she turned her eerily dark eyes to gaze straight into his shock-stricked face.

"What in blazes of fucking hell of a son of a mother-whore son were you thinking?" She screeched at him, slapping his head as if she could pound sense into him.  
"Are you insane? Have you completely lost your mind or do you have a fucking death wish?!" Slap. "What were you thinking? Did you think an evac alarm was sounded for fun!?" Slap. "Or were you so drunk you slept TROUGH THE EVACUATION OF AN ENTIRE FUCKING CITY?!" "Did some crazy person slip something into your drink. I swear by all that is fucking holy, that had better be the case... you insane, son of a she-bitch." Dara finished breathlessly.

"I barely arrived in time" she sobbed kneeling next to his stunned form.

Shakily, he stood glaring down at her. "How... how did you DO that?!"

"What?" she asked incredulously

"How... holy mother of god how?" he croaked.

A stunned, moment of realization passed across her face.

Pete merely glared back.

"Oh god. The evacuation... I … I thought you knew." She took a deep breath and stood. Swaying from the exertion of battle, before adding "Look. I know you have a million questions – you should – but we need to move. You are not the only person whose well-being I'm responsible for."

Silence.

"Please." She pleaded. "We need to run. I .. am a mage. You've read enough fantasy novels to know that word three times over but I don't have time to explain more." She sighed at his still, shock-struck form. "Please don't force me to leave you behind."

He nodded and plodded after the dark-haired form of a girl he barely knew... apparently.

They arrived at a barren field, the surrounding ground had formed a rocky chasm.

"But just yesterday..." Pete stated to the air recalling the rolling green fields that bordered the small town adjoining Chicago.

"Those creatures.." Dara paused chewing on the answer to an unvoiced question "are called darkspawn. They taint and poison all people, animals, and land when they invade." "Like salt in a field... like..." Her eyes grew distant as she choked out the conclusion "death reborn." "I'm sorry... I... I don't know much else."

Once again, Pete merely nodded in disbelief.

Dara grasped a glimmering blue crystal buried in the blackened dirt.  
The world before them vanished, and a fresh, terrifying sight greeted Dara's eyes.

Lothering was burning.


	2. Chapter 2

Pete drunk in not only the horrific destruction that surrounded the duo but odd remnants of what resembled a 14th century village. Although the entire area was clearly over-run by those menacing monstrosities, Pete doubted the ramshackle collection of huts, barns, and wooden buildings had much of chance to begin with. A keening wail escaped the dark-haired girl's lips as she observed the scenery. Bodies were piled across what remained of the main cobblestone street. The few remaining houses were being torched as darkspawn of every size ransacked the only village she knew as home. Grasping Pete's wrist, she pulled hard "We're heading North. _**Now**_." as she lead him through winding alleys, weaving through the burning wreckage with a speed and grace Pete would have attributed to a gazelle. Disfigured images of wagons and broken carts along with bloodied, singed remains of oxen whizzed in his peripheral. _How were they moving so fast on foot? Was that... wait... __**wagons**__? They use wagons for transportation? Seriously Pete? You literally plunged head first into __**monsters**__, witnessed your little friend here defeat a small army single handedly before proclaiming she was some sort of sorceress, and found yourself transported by a magical crystal to... god knows where … and you're shocked by the sight of __**wagons**__. _If the acrid smell of burning flesh and carrion wasn't steeped into his senses, the absurdity of the day – not to mention – bizarre terrain their feet flew over with an unnatural speed – none of it would even seem remotely real.

"What … what year is it?" Half whispering, Pete didn't expect an answer.  
"9:30 dragon."

"Riiight" he chuckled under his breath.

Those words may as well have fallen on deaf ears. Her eyes glimmering, unnaturally blue-green with a look of cool, hard determination. _Wait her eyes... maybe it has something to do with magic or that stone but I've seen that look before.. _

_**5 years 7 months earlier South Bruce Peninsula, Ontario**_

_ Serena and Pete brought an incredibly stunned Dara (who gaped at them in disbelief and awe when informed she was to accompany them as a guest during this outing along with the rest of their friends in celebration of their 3rd anniversary) to The Red Lobster glancing down in amusement at their completely entranced friend as they crossed the restaurant's threshold. _

"_Her eyes are so wide they look like saucers" Serena giggled._

"_If this wasn't so entertaining, I'd almost feel guilty." Pete chuckled in amusement._

_Before Serena could reply, Dara had streaked across the restaurant eyes truly looking like inky-black saucers waving her arms like a goose. _

_A chuckle escaped them both despite their best efforts._

"They... they suspended a piece of ocean! In the middle of a... we're not underwater. How is that possible?!" She continued babbling in response to their bewildered stares. "I'm not making this up! You can even see fish, coral, and pieces of a broken reef right in the middle of dry land!" Grabbing their hands, she pulled them in the direction of her ground-breaking discovery.

"_Has... she never seen a fish tank before?" Serena choked incredulously._

"_Apparently not." Pete's voiced was laced with concern. This girl had become a little sister to him, to both of them. And he was fiercely protective. "She seems to be … getting a little overwhelmed."_

_Serena snorted in reply and elbowed him in the gut playfully. "I'll keep an eye out. After all, I'm the psychologist here." _

_After dragging them to an impressive aquatic display and murmuring hushed words that escaped both their ears, she turned to discover, two unenthusiastic faces nodding while clearly attempting to stifle their amusement._

"This is one of those... things that any dumb-shit should know about isn't it?" she sighed.

"_Hey if you have never encountered such a thing, no one can blame you." Pete offered helpfully. "They're called fish tanks."_

_Dara rolled her eyes. "Ack. This is your night and here I am bantering on about nonsense per usual. Let's get you two back to your party."_

_Serena gingerly wrapped an arm around Dara's slim shoulders. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it. To be honest, it's absolutely adorable when you go on like this. Besides kiddo, it's your night too!"_

_Dara snorted while skipping along enthusiastically as she was led back to their table._

"_We're being serious. If you want, seeing how it is your 19th birthday which makes you drinking age, you can order a couple beverages. We won't interfere." Pete added. Although neither couple believed she was truly of age, they had agreed a few drinks might soothe her nerves given how crowded it was and she did have that... suspicious yet passable ID as far as any alcohol-serving establishment would be concerned. After all, they would both be present, not to mention surrounded by friends and family._

"_Oooooh. Could I... try that one Serena claims tastes like frozen strawberries?" She gibbered enthusiastically._

_The evening was definitely a joyful one – Pete made sure to carve it into memory – considering how rare it was to see either his fiance or little sister smile and openly joke in a group._

_**0o0o0o0o0o0**_

_Pete awoke at a start. Quickly glancing over to the slumbering form of Serena, red tufts of hair peeking out of the quilt, he smiled warmly at the woman who drove out the darkness that seemed to surround his world. Yet, something was still off. He quickly darted out to the foyer, noting the absence of any evidence of intrusion, peeked in on Reis, his twin brother in the first room off the hallway and stifled a bout of laughter at his obviously inebriated, prostrate form bundled up atop his mattress. But still something felt ... wrong. Pete had always possessed an innate sense for these things. Something was causing his hair to stand on end.  
**Dara**. His chest clutched as he raced across the cabin to the door of her room. He knew the answer before turning the knob, she was gone. Cursing himself for not considering the fact she was inebriated, underage, and probably a tad disoriented when she retired for the evening - he grabbed a jacket and bolted for the door. For all he knew, she was wandering alone in the wee hours of the morning along the half-frozen shore._

"_This is worse than I thought." Pete muttered to the stark black night while a bitter cold wind whipped through his thick winter coat as if he wore nothing at all. She is skin and bones, not to mention always half-frozen as it is …. he clutched the fabric of the additional sweater he snatched while clambering through the porch._

_As he bolted toward the coastline, knowing she found the sea comforting and frequently spent her afternoons gazing deep in thought into the vast nothingness, a curious sight caught his attention. A strange, dim glow hovered in the distance while the wind carried a hollow voice that seemed to cry to the heavens itself. Striding toward this anomaly, he barely noticed the small flecks of snowy ice that had begun to pelt against his coat. And then he found her, sitting atop a bare-white boulder, water lapping at her ankles, surrounded by what seemed to be a cloud of fireflies in nothing more than shorts and a Waterloo University T-shirt – singing in a tone that was so hushed and sullen he could scarcely believe he managed to hear her voice at such a distance._

_He shook his head a couple times, regaining sobriety not to mention sanity – which this girl had clearly forgotten – Pete lunged forwards "What in God's name are you thinking Dara? You'll not only catch your death but this isn't exactly a safe area during the day and far less so in the middle of the night! Good lord, what happened? You can't just wander off like this!" Pete rambled on in a tone that brooked no disobedience. "I thought you were dead for a few minutes. Do you realize how easy it would be to contract frostbite in these conditions?" He wrapped her in the meager sweater he'd been clutching with a sigh._

_Minutes passed before Pete realized the storm had come to standstill. He approached Dara, hands outstretched, yet before he could grasp onto her arm and drag her back to the cottage as gently as possible, given the fact this girl was inebriated far beyond what he or Serena realized and clearly had a troubled past, she turned that frighteningly stark-black gaze in his direction, bringing him to an abrupt halt._

"_I'm sorry." she seemed to choke on the words._

"_Look, Dar-"_

No. Not for wandering without alerting you. Trust me, not for anything you could feasibly imagine."

_Her eyes were so distant as she gazed out into the shockingly-dark water, Pete's voice seemed to vanish in a whimpering wind._

_She sighed. "I know there is less than a month for us to appeal..."_

_Pete abruptly cut her off "Oh god, is that what this is all about? Dara. We **will** appeal. We will win. You have a strong case. And neither I nor Serena will allow you to be deported. Seriously. Listen. I honestly don't care – you should know more than enough about me and how much I respect the law by now to realize, even if the worst outcome came to pass -"_

_A swift, strong gesture cut him off mid-sentence._

"_It's not that." she whispered in a strangled, choked voice. "I know you would hide me, goodness, you have demonstrated that you would practically die to ensure my well-being." A cry so soft and delicate escaped before she could continue "You weren't supposed to be good people... I … am so sorry." "I... thought... I... I mean not only a smuggler and a drug dealer but a person I hadn't spoken to outside the internet? It wasn't supposed to be like this... you weren't supposed to be a good person. Isn't that sort of story supposed to end with you being the "bad guy?" or whatever?" She looked at him inquisitively but left no room for response.  
"I am leaving."  
Her hand waved off the reply she evidently predicted.  
"I have to. There is no other way. I will be safe. I... l...l..love you... you have become family, my big brother." another choked sob escaped her. Before the resolute, cold determination he would recognize years later in another world met his gaze in a stare more telling than any words he could construe with mere words; "I will not let harm come to you or Serena. But should you ever need me. Call. And I will come. . . . No one will harm one hair on your head, so long as I breathe."_

_Serena woke him the following morning, terrified and breathless. Yet, he already knew the message: **Dara was gone.**_

_**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**_


End file.
